Although statutes criminalizing asphyxiation are passing nationally, the initial focus has been on intimate partner violence. Cases involving pediatric asphyxiation - including strangulation, suffocation, and drowning - are often underreported, misidentified, and misunderstood. Better understanding of this crime has unveiled another vulnerable population - infants, children and teens. This talk will discuss the dynamics and prevalence of asphyxiation in child abuse, revealing the gaps in the criminal justice systems that have in the past that have failed to identify, investigate and prosecute this lethal and serious type of violence. This workshop provides guidelines on identifying non-fatal injuries and deaths that are missed or mistakenly classified as unintentional/accidental and case study examples of homicides and abuse that have fallen through the cracks.